Rob Stone
Encyclopedia
Rob Stone is a sports commentator for ESPN
. He has covered various sports including Major League Soccer
, NCAA and NFL football, and is now the play-by-play announcer for PBA
Tournament Bowling alongside color commentator and 13-time PBA titleist Randy Pedersen
.
, Stone is a 1991 graduate of Colgate University
with a degree in English and was an exceptional player on the college's soccer team, captaining the squad his senior year. He was a member of Sigma Chi.
Stone originally hired on at ESPN in 1992 as a production assistant, working on SportsCenter
and other shows. The following year Stone went to WFXL
-TV in Albany, Georgia
; he worked there two years as a sports anchor and later as sports director. In 1995 he went to WTOG
in Tampa, Florida
as a weekend sports anchor and sports reporter, primarily covering stories on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
. Stone returned to ESPN in the summer of 1997. He has also worked as an analyst for the Tampa Bay Mutiny
soccer team for SportsChannel Florida.
coverage, and MLS Primetime Thursday
, as well as their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
. In 2007, he became a regular contributor to big horse racing events. He covered the Kentucky Derby
, the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes
, the Irish Derby, the Breeders Cup and other key horse racing events. Stone left the telecasts after the Breeders Cup.
On June 30, 2008, Stone appeared as a guest host on ESPN's Around the Horn
. He replaced Tony Reali
as the host of Around the Horn while Tony was getting married. He was also one of the commentators for the 2006 World Series of Darts.
bowling telecasts on ESPN prior to the 2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour
.
youth leagues, an actual hambone is two consecutive strikes rather than four.) According to an interview with Stone on PBA.com, the phrase started out as a fad when he casually asked color commentator Randy Pedersen on the air, "if three strikes is a 'turkey', why isn't there a name for four strikes?" Stone launched the hambone phrase in the following week's TV finals, and it soon took on a life all its own despite criticism from traditionalists, some media and (at first) even a few bowlers on the PBA tour. In the 2007 CLR Windy City Classic final between Brad Angelo and Robert Smith
, Stone said to his fellow commentator, "I think I'm going to call four strikes in a row a Hambone. I think I'm going to force it on bowling."
Though many bowlers were slow to embrace the catchphrase, it has become extremely popular with PBA management, and even more so with bowling fans who now bring "Hambone" placards to flash on camera whenever someone rolls four straight strikes. In a February 17, 2008 match, Hall of Fame bowler Pete Weber
, after rolling a fourth consecutive strike, pointed to Stone in the TV booth and shouted over the cheers, "Rob Stone, here's your hambone!" while performing his trademark chop.
news reporter Lynn Carson on September 11, 1999; they have four children.
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. He has covered various sports including Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
, NCAA and NFL football, and is now the play-by-play announcer for PBA
Professional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
Tournament Bowling alongside color commentator and 13-time PBA titleist Randy Pedersen
Randy Pedersen
Randy Pedersen is a professional bowler and color analyst for ESPN's coverage of the PBA Tour. He works alongside play-by-play commentator Rob Stone. Pedersen grew up in Southern California, but relocated to Clermont, Florida in the early 1990s, where he has resided ever since...
.
Early life and career
A native of Simsbury, ConnecticutSimsbury, Connecticut
Simsbury is a suburban town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 23,234 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's twenty-first town in May 1670.-Early history:...
, Stone is a 1991 graduate of Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
with a degree in English and was an exceptional player on the college's soccer team, captaining the squad his senior year. He was a member of Sigma Chi.
Stone originally hired on at ESPN in 1992 as a production assistant, working on SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
and other shows. The following year Stone went to WFXL
WFXL
WFXL is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southwestern Georgia that is licensed to Albany. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Doerun near the Colquitt and Worth County line. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station has studios on...
-TV in Albany, Georgia
Albany, Georgia
Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...
; he worked there two years as a sports anchor and later as sports director. In 1995 he went to WTOG
WTOG
WTOG, channel 44, is a television station in St. Petersburg, Florida. Owned by the CBS Corporation, WTOG serves as the Tampa Bay Area station for the co-owned The CW Television Network. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.-Early years:...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
as a weekend sports anchor and sports reporter, primarily covering stories on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
. Stone returned to ESPN in the summer of 1997. He has also worked as an analyst for the Tampa Bay Mutiny
Tampa Bay Mutiny
The Tampa Bay Mutiny was a charter franchise of Major League Soccer active from 1996 - 2001. They initially played in Tampa Stadium and were immediately successful, winning the first MLS Supporters' Shield behind MLS MVP Carlos Valderrama and high-scoring forward Roy Lassiter, whose 27 goals in...
soccer team for SportsChannel Florida.
ESPN
Stone works on select ESPN College Football telecasts. He also works on ESPN's Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
coverage, and MLS Primetime Thursday
MLS Primetime Thursday
MLS Primetime Thursday is a weekly presentation of Major League Soccer games on ESPN2 that began in 2007. The program is presented by Adidas. ESPN and MLS had previously had a contract where ESPN2 televised live games at 4PM on Saturdays. Play-by-play was usually handled by JP Dellacamera, with...
, as well as their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. In 2007, he became a regular contributor to big horse racing events. He covered the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
, the Irish Derby, the Breeders Cup and other key horse racing events. Stone left the telecasts after the Breeders Cup.
On June 30, 2008, Stone appeared as a guest host on ESPN's Around the Horn
Around the Horn
Around the Horn is a daily, half-hour sports roundtable on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, as part of a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption. The show is currently hosted by Tony Reali.-History:Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, hosted by Max Kellerman...
. He replaced Tony Reali
Tony Reali
Anthony Joseph Paul "Tony" Reali is an American sports personality and television host, and the current host of Around the Horn on ESPN...
as the host of Around the Horn while Tony was getting married. He was also one of the commentators for the 2006 World Series of Darts.
PBA Bowling
Stone replaced Dave Ryan as the lead play-by-play announcer for PBAProfessional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
bowling telecasts on ESPN prior to the 2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour
PBA Tour
The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA Tour consists of "exempt" bowlers who are a part of the almost 4,300 members worldwide...
.
"HAMBONE!"
Stone originated the catchphrase "Hambone!", which he took to shouting when any bowler rolled four strikes in a row in a game. (It was unknown to Stone that in some bowling circles, including USBCUnited States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress, Women's International Bowling Congress, Young American Bowling Alliance, and USA Bowling...
youth leagues, an actual hambone is two consecutive strikes rather than four.) According to an interview with Stone on PBA.com, the phrase started out as a fad when he casually asked color commentator Randy Pedersen on the air, "if three strikes is a 'turkey', why isn't there a name for four strikes?" Stone launched the hambone phrase in the following week's TV finals, and it soon took on a life all its own despite criticism from traditionalists, some media and (at first) even a few bowlers on the PBA tour. In the 2007 CLR Windy City Classic final between Brad Angelo and Robert Smith
Robert Smith (bowler)
Robert Smith , is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association tour. A native of Simi Valley, California, Smith has previously held residence in Captain Cook, Hawaii and Columbus, Ohio though now he resides and works in Hong Kong.An eight-time titleist , he is...
, Stone said to his fellow commentator, "I think I'm going to call four strikes in a row a Hambone. I think I'm going to force it on bowling."
Though many bowlers were slow to embrace the catchphrase, it has become extremely popular with PBA management, and even more so with bowling fans who now bring "Hambone" placards to flash on camera whenever someone rolls four straight strikes. In a February 17, 2008 match, Hall of Fame bowler Pete Weber
Pete Weber
Peter David "Pete" Weber, nicknamed “PDW”, , is a famous bowling professional on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. Weber is one of the sport's most popular active players and is well known for his maverick, rebellious personality...
, after rolling a fourth consecutive strike, pointed to Stone in the TV booth and shouted over the cheers, "Rob Stone, here's your hambone!" while performing his trademark chop.
Stone-isms
- "Back on the strike train!" (sometimes said after a bowler rolls a strike following a spare or open frame.)
- "Drop and give me ten!" (sometimes when a bowler rolls a strike.)
- "Back-to-back jacks!" (when a bowler rolls two strikes in a row)
- "Show me those signs ...[city/state]!" (said after shouting "Hambone!")
- "YAHTZEE!!" or "Drops the nickel!" (5 strikes in a row)
- "Crack open the six-pack!" (six strikes in a row)
- "Adds the extra point to the touchdown." (seven strikes in a row)
- "The Bo Derek!" (ten strikes in a row)
- "Messenger....!!" (a runaway pin about to hit another pin)
- "its 7 love" (on the first game of 2011 college football season)
Personal life
Stone married Tampa BayTampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
news reporter Lynn Carson on September 11, 1999; they have four children.